Oftentimes, when closures are placed on containers, it is desirable to have the closure oriented in a specific manner with respect to the container. This may be desired for a number of reasons such as enabling the user to view the front face and/or label of the container as the user manipulates the front of the lid on the closure to open or close the lid. Further it may be desired to have a container and corresponding closure whereby threads are not required to attach the closure to the container. However, it still may be desired to have a positive orientation structure associated with such a container and closure combination.
Positive orientation systems for packages in the form of a container and a closure assembly for the container are generally known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,080, the subject matter and entire writing of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a closure assembly that includes a closure body having a closure skirt with one or more recesses on an interior surface of the closure skirt. The closure assembly is adapted to engage a container neck finish that includes a threaded container neck with protuberances formed on a base portion thereof. Each recess is adapted to receive a protuberance. As the closure is rotated and threaded onto the container neck, the closure skirt is initially engaged by and deformed somewhat by the protuberances. Either the container neck or the closure skirt, or both, must be sufficiently resilient to deform as the closure is threaded onto the container neck so as to accommodate relative movement of the protuberance and skirt until the protuberance is received in the recess. When the recesses become aligned with the protuberances, the container skirt or protuberances, or both, return to their undeformed shape, thereby retaining the closure in a predetermined orientation on the container.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a positive orientation system in the form of a closure and container combination that avoid the limitations found in the prior art.
Some conventional orientation systems for closures require the use of relatively expensive automatic capping equipment that is specially designed to apply caps in a predetermined orientation on containers. It would be desirable to provide an improved orientation system that would not require such expensive, specialized equipment. It would also be advantageous if such an improved closure system could accommodate bottles, containers, or packages which have a variety of shapes and that are constructed from a variety of materials. Further, it would be desirable if such an improved system could accommodate efficient, high-quality, large volume manufacturing techniques with a reduced product reject rate to produce a system with consistent operating characteristics.